retrieval
noun
Retrieval — the careful act of bringing back what had gone astray
Definition
The act of regaining or saving something lost (or in danger of becoming lost)
In depth
Retrieval, like recovery, names the act of regaining or saving something lost or endangered, but the word carries a slightly more deliberate, technical, or procedural connotation, often used for the specific act of fetching, recovering, or accessing data, objects, or memories that had been set aside or misplaced.
Origin
The word descends from Old French retrouver, to find again, formed from re- (again) and trouver (to find). That simple, repeated act of finding again underlies the word's modern technical applications, from data systems to search algorithms, all of which are, at root, mechanisms designed for the same ancient human task of finding something a second time.
Usage examples
"Data retrieval after the system crash proved unexpectedly difficult, despite the regular backups."
"The dog's retrieval of the downed bird was, the hunter admitted, the most impressive part of the entire afternoon."
"Memory retrieval, the neuroscientist explained, is less like replaying a recording than like reconstructing something anew each time."
How to use it
Retrieval suits technical, scientific, and procedural writing especially well, particularly in contexts involving data, memory, or trained recovery of objects, such as hunting dogs. It is slightly more clinical and precise than the broader, more emotionally resonant 'recovery.'
Related concepts
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